Elys is a prosperous nation in Tekeburi, and the hub for trade in the Three Point Sea of Isahai, Tekeburi, and Auvyx.
The government is a Theocracy, ruled by a monarch and their Sun Guard. The title of Amethet, or monarch, is divinely appointed and is a result of astrology and casting stones to determine who out of a chosen group, selected over a period of three weeks by nomination from the populace, will train with the Sun Guard to become the next Amethet. To become a Sun Guard, one has to be the appointed heir of another Sun Guard or beat them in a dual challenge of combat and knowledge. An order of impartial priests watch the challenges and appoint a winner.
The people of Elys are friendly and loyal, and are seen by other groups as proud and protective of their own.
Elysians prize family relationships, especially mother-daughter and father-son relationships. Children spend most of their time with parents of the same gender. The head of the family is usually the matriarch, and the patriarch of the family is seen as subservient to her. Age is seen as a sign of wisdom and blessing.
Marriage is thought to be a way to bind families together. Married couples live in their families' houses, but connect their houses via walkways. This creates a web of rooftop walkways above the streets that matches a web of familial connections.
Practical trades, such as weaving and carpentry, are considered the highest level of education aside from theocracy. The Elysian people are seen as innovators in the crafts, especially when it comes to textiles. However, they place high value on handwork, so machines are created to assist with, not replace, skilled crafters. Bobbin lace and passementerie are well-practiced in Elys, as well as multiple kinds of looms and types of knotwork. Fabric is prized in Elysian culture, especially thin textiles, and the textiles produced in Elys are said to only be rivalled by the textiles of Kanburi.
Elysian architecture is geometric and often very painted. Houses are made from a mix of sandstone, wood, and mud. Most houses are built around a roughly rectangular floorplan, often intersecting and sharing walls with other houses. In large cities, houses are built up on terraces, especially on the south side of hills where there is more shade. Houses have large windows filled in with reed curtains that can be adjusted for wind and sunlight. On the outside, houses are painted with designs such as diamonds, lines, and eyes to make them distinct and to protect them from magic. Many houses are connected by temporary walkways, as multi-family bonds are common. Because of the influence of textiles, large cloth tents can be seen on the roofs of most houses, providing an extra layer of protection from the sun. Wealthy houses have their own stables for sand drakes, though many people still keep drakes in communal stables.
Elysian clothing is structured around ease of movement and light fabrics. The most common choice of clothing is a pair of baggy pants made from linen cloth, usually adorned with a belt. On particularly warm days, most people forgo the belt, or on occasions even the shirt entirely. Nudity is seen as an acceptable, but sometimes extreme, way to get out of the heat. Children who haven't gone through puberty wear loincloths.
Much of the Elysian day is structured around the rituals and movement of the sun, from the sunrise and sunset rituals to the midday rest away from the sun's heat. Elysian folk are often awake into the night and rise early in the morning to take advantage of the cooler hours of dawn and dusk.
Skilled artisans are highly prized in Elysian society, especially those that work with cloth and metal. In larger cities, there are sizable underground markets for ancient items from ruins, many of which are sold to universities for study.
While their parents are at work, children often go to children's houses, where teachers and non-working adults keep watch over them. At these houses, children are generally given free rein and play as they wish, with some hours set aside for teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. Older children learn their parents' trades by waiting at their workplace.
Elysian children are fond of games that rely on a wide variety of skills: hiding games are popular, as are guessing games and obstacle courses.
Elysians are known for having a wide variety of cuisines, almost always heavily spiced and based around breads made of sorghum or teff. A breed of flightless duck is bred in coastal towns for eggs and meat.
The people of Elys have a vibrant culture blended with cultures from all around Tekeburi. The Draketh people come from the west, out of Heban. They brought with them drake-riding and the concept of sacred combat dances. Their clothing is dyed in shades of red, orange, yellow, and brown, and they often wear knotted skirts of rope over their waist wraps. They accomodated the eastern linens into their clothing, as well as the elaborate goldwork that they combined with their own wooden beads to create huge necklaces and bracelets now seen as a staple of Elysian fashion.
The Nudusari farmers come from the Aberian plains, bringing the wooly Ndaru sheep with them. They are excellent weavers, and quickly introduced their cloths into the Elysian culture. They also brought with them their cyclical belief system that melded with the religions of the Draketh and Thutani cultures to form the modern Elysian religion. Their clothing is easy to identify, marked by bold patterns, and the most common piece of clothing is the large, finely woven shawl worn around the shoulders used to shield the person from the sun.
The Thutani culture was the first culture in the lakes region, and a proud fishing culture. They built houses of mud and brick that became the basis for Elysian architecture today. Their clothing is characterized by loose pants and tops, held together in the center by woven belts of reeds.
The majority of people in Elys are Sukhet, either Draketh, Thutani, or Ndusari. There is a large diaspora of Kobolds in Kano and neighboring cities. Most are practicioners of Nduthet, a religion that focuses on the worship of nine major deities and many minor ones. It is common for people to be named after deities, though with a prefix or suffix added to their name.